On a Run
by NATFreak
Summary: Judith Grimes, now twelve years old, goes on a run with her Uncle Daryl. R&R!


Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead.

 **A/N: Welcome to my first ever TWD fanfiction in honor of Halloween! This one-shot takes place years after where the show currently is where you will find Judith is now twelve years old and on a run with her Uncle Daryl. So sit back, relax, and enjoy! Here goes!**

It was supposed to be like any other run for Daryl except this time he found himself taking his favorite lil ass kicker along, Rick's daughter Judith Grimes.

Daryl had been cleaning off his bike and making sure the tank was full when she came bouncing across the yard and landed right in front of him with a huge grin on her face. Only twelve years old and the kid was already starting to look like her mom Lori Grimes with her long dark hair except for the fact that she had her dad's blue eyes. She wore faded blue jeans, a gray short sleeve shirt with a black leather jacket, and black riding boots.

"Goin' somewheres?" Daryl asked, returning to his bike as he rubbed down the handles.

"Yep," she replied with her hands clapped behind her.

"And where's that?" he inquired without taking his eyes off his work.

"Wherever you're going, Uncle Daryl," she told him.

Daryl dropped his rag and looked up at her stunned. "What the hell did ya just say?"

"I'm. Going. With. You," Judith repeated slowly, enunciating every word. "I asked Dad and he said it was okay as long as I listened to you and never left your side."

 _Rick must be out of his goddamn mind,_ thought Daryl as he shook his head. "Since when do ya listen ta me?"

"Since never," Judith admitted, grinning as she rocked back and forth on her heels. "But it was the only way to get Dad to let me go since he and Carl are busy."

"Why do ya want ta go out on a run so bad anyway?" he demanded as he stood up and put the rag in his pocket. He flinched a little in pain as his sore muscles screamed in protest. Needless to say he was not as young as he had been back when the world had first gone to shit.

"One Dad never lets me go outside the walls," she pointed out as she folded her arms across her chest. "I can help but he won't let me but now he's beginning to realize he has no choice. I mean, let's face it, you guys are getting old and won't be able to go out on runs someday so doesn't it make sense to train someone so that when you can no longer do it yourself, they can?"

"I ain't old," Daryl muttered as he threw on his pack and straddled his bike, starting it up.

"You're not young either," Judith yelled over the roaring of the engine.

 _She ain't wrong,_ he thought as he sighed and scooted forward to make room for her. He patted the seat. "Get on!"

Judith grinned as she swung her right leg over and got on. "Thanks, Uncle Daryl. You're the best."

"Yeah yeah," he muttered though he could not help but smile back at the pre-teen girl who had once been a baby he had held and named lil ass kicker. "Just make sure ya hold on."

~ On a Run ~

They had to travel a ways since most of the towns around Alexandria had been stripped clean years ago but they eventually came upon a city that had a pharmacy they were hoping still had medical supplies the community needed.

"Geez, I can't even read any of this stuff," murmured Judith as she looked over the list her dad had given to her. "Do you really think we'll be able to find any of this?"

"That's what we're here ta find out, ain't it?" Daryl pointed out as he parked the motorcycle and swung down before turning to her but she had already hopped down. "Ya do have a weapon, don't ya?"

"So that's what that weight on my back is," noted Judith sarcastically as she reached behind her with her right hand and pulled a long shafted spear from its holder on her back. It had an intricately carved blade and dark red tassels hanging off its wooden end. "Mom gave it to me after I told her Dad was letting me go with you. She said that she had made it and kept it for me until I was ready though I still need more practice. She just showed me the basics. What I really want though is a crossbow like yours, Uncle Daryl. Do you think you can teach me sometime? Like maybe on our way back?"

 _Girl knows what she wants,_ thought Daryl with a smirk. _Definitely a Grimes._ "We'll see. First we need to go clear that building and see if there are any walkers inside. I'm gonna open the door and let out one or two at a time. I want ya ta keep yer distance and use that spear of yers, alright?"

Judith nodded as they walked over to the doors of the pharmacy, gripping her spear the way her mother had shown her. Not so tight that she could not feel her fingers but not so loose that she dropped it.

As they neared the doors, Judith could hear the snarl of the dead as Daryl motioned for her to stop which she did. Daryl then moved over to the side of one of the doors, placing his left hand on the handle with his right hand holding a dagger as he glanced over at her.

"Ya ready?" He asked.

Judith swallowed hard. She could hear her blood rushing to her head as her heart thumped in her chest. She took a deep breath and nodded. "Ready."

Daryl nodded back before opening the door and letting two walkers out before closing it. He took out the first one whose head was partially detached from its neck before turning to watch Judith who was facing off against a walker whose skin was peeling off its bones, displaying the muscles and organs underneath. "It's okay to be scared, lil ass kicker. Just remember ta…"

Judith darted forward and pierced the walker's skull from underneath before jumping back as the walker fell to the ground. The blade of the shaft was soaked in blood and covered in brain matter but she was unharmed as she turned to Daryl with a smile on her face. "How was that?"

"Ya've been training with yer mom, haven't ya?" figured Daryl.

Judith nodded. "I've been training with Aunt Maggie and Aunt Carol too."

"Should've known," he muttered, shaking his head as he headed back to the pharmacy. "Ready for another one?"

"Ready when you are, Uncle Daryl," said Judith as she took her stance.

"Definitely a Grimes," Daryl murmured with a slight smile as he opened the door.

~ On a Run ~

"I can't believe it," whispered Judith after they had cleared out the walkers and entered the pharmacy. She was drenched in sweat and breathing heavily but was elated at her first series of successful walker kills. "Everything's here."

"Good," grunted Daryl as he pushed his sweaty hair out of his face and slung off his pack, handing it to her. "Here, fill it up."

Judith took the pack and started cleaning off the dusty, moldy shelves while Daryl took a seat on a counter nearby.

"Ya did good out there, ya know," he told her after she had finished and came back over to him. "Yer Mom and Dad would have been proud; yer brother, Maggie, and Carol too."

"Thanks," she murmured as he stood up and shrugged the pack back on. "So does that mean I can try your crossbow now?"

Daryl shook his head and laughed. "Ya never give up, do ya?"

"Nope," she replied with her usual smile. "So can I?"

Daryl stared at the young girl with her determined blue eyes that reminded him of her dad for a moment before sighing. "Fine. I'll give ya a lesson on our way back."

~ On a Run ~

"Put yer right hand there on the trigger and yer left hand under there," he told her as Judith took the crossbow from him. He had wondered if it might be too much weight for her but if it was, Judith did not show it. "Now raise it up so that it's at eye level, makes it easier ta aim."

"Like this?" Judith asked as she did as instructed.

"Yeah," said Daryl as he pulled an arrow out of his quiver and handed it to her. "Here, take this arrow and hook it to the string then pull back until it clicks in there."

Judith did as they heard a snarl and turned to see a walker approaching. Its broken jaw was dripping with blood as if it had just ate but was apparently still hungry as it headed towards them. Judith raised the crossbow, aiming it at the walker's head and released the arrow but instead of piercing the skull and entering the brain as she had intended, the arrow hit its left shoulder. "Damn it, I missed."

"Yeah, but that's still a pretty good hit for yer first time," Daryl told her as he strode up to the walker and shoved his dagger into the top of its skull before pulling it back out. The walker slumped to the ground as he walked back over to her. "Ya just need ta practice, that's all. Then ya'll be able ta use a crossbow and a spear without even thinkin' about it."

"Does that mean you're going to give me more lessons?" She inquired innocently.

"Yer relentless, ya know that?" he muttered with a slight smile.

"I know," she replied as they got back on the bike and headed home. "I know."

~ On a Run ~

"So how did it go?" asked Rick the second they got through the gate.

"We cleared out the pharmacy and got the medicine we needed," Judith told him, hopping down after Daryl turned off the bike. "Uncle Daryl gave me a crossbow lesson on the way back too."

"Did he know?" said Rick as he glanced over his daughter's head to look at his brother with an eyebrow raised.

"Yeah I did," Daryl confirmed. "And she's pretty damn good. I think we should let her keep training with weapons and going on runs 'cause someday we won't be here and she'll need to know how to protect herself, right?"

Rick glanced back and forth between them before staring down at Judith and smiling. "Yes, yes she will which is why she will continue to go on runs and train."

"You mean it, Dad?" breathed Judith as she stared at her father with wide eyes.

Rick rubbed the top of her head. "I mean it."

 **A/N: And there you have it! Hope you all enjoyed! Until next time, read review and share the love! Happy Halloween!**


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